Baja Lasagna Food

THE BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large bowl and "pull" it apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and loosening the meat without compacting it.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread the beef in an even layer in the same pot and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is browned and completely cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, celery, onions, half the garlic, the bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it's very fragrant and brick red colored, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and reduce until the liquid is very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the reserved pancetta and beef, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Add the basil and Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the ragu should release occasional small bubbles. If the ragu reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking. Repeat if necessary. The ragu needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf, basil and Parmesan rind. Break up any remaining clumps of meat with the back of a spoon, making an even textured sauce. Season with salt and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles, stirring occasionally and separating them to prevent sticking, until softened and bendable but are still hard and chalky in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl of cold water and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the remaining grated garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to assemble.
• Lightly oil a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking pan. Spread 1 cup of the ragu evenly in the bottom of the pan. Lay a single layer of noodles over the ragu (if you're using long noodles, you will need to cut some noodles to fill the gaps). Spread 1 1/2 cups of the ragu over the noodles. Dollop 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the ragu and spread lightly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat with the remaining pasta, ragu, ricotta mixture and mozzarella, creating 4 layers of pasta and ending with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. (The lasagna should come just above the top of the pan but it will sink down slightly as it cooks.) Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly oil a piece of foil and cover the pan. Put the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake the lasagna until bubbling gently around the edges, about 1 hour.
• Remove the lasagna from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Remove the foil and then continue to bake the lasagna until the top is browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

BAJA LASAGNA

Steps:

• Set oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease a 13 x 9" baking dish OR a casserole dish.
• In a skillet, saute ground beef with onion and garlic (if using), until meat is no longer pink; drain any fat.
• Add in tomatoes, chopped chilies, mushrooms, Pinto beans, chili powder and cumin, mix slightly; simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.
• In a baking dish, arrange a single layer of tortilla strips.
• Pour 1/4 cup of the tomato mixture, and 1/3 of the cheese over the tortillas strips.
• Set aside a little of the cheese for the top Repeat layers.
• Bake for 30 minutes.
• Before serving, spread a layer of sour cream over the top of casserole, and sprinkle with any remaining reserved cheese.

BAJA LASAGNA

Steps:

• preheat oven to 350.
• saute onion in a skillet with non stick spray about 4 minutes.
• add tomatoes, chiles, beans, and chili powder, and cumin. simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
• In a casserole dish layer tortilla in a single layer, then tomato mixture, then cheese, repeating layers until all is used.
• Top with sour cream and some reserved cheddar cheese.
• bake 30 minutes.

BAJA SALAD

Steps:

• Place romaine lettuce in a large bowl. Add tomato, avocado, cucumber, feta cheese, onion, corn, and black beans; toss well. Sprinkle tortilla chips over salad.
• Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt, and pepper together in a bowl until dressing is smooth; drizzle over salad.

BAJA SAUCE

Steps:

• Place bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, and onion in the bowl of a food processor; puree until smooth. Stir together 4 teaspoons of this puree with the mayonnaise, and vinegar in a small bowl. Season with pepper, garlic powder, and cumin. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to allow flavors to develop.

SUPREME LASAGNA

Steps:

• Cook meats, onion and garlic in large skillet over med-high heat until meat is brown, stirring to separate meat; drain fat.
• Add tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, basil and marjoram.
• Reduce heat to low, cover; simmer 15 minutes, stirring often. Stir in mushrooms, set aside.
• Beat eggs in large bowl; add cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well.
• Place 1/2 of the noodles in bottom of greased 13x9-inch pan.
• Spread 1/2 of cheese mixture over noodles, 1/2 of meat mixture and 1/2 of cheddar and mozzarella cheeses.
• Repeat layers. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan.
• Bake in preheated 375 degree oven 40 to 45 minutes or until bubbly.
• Let stand 10 minutes.
• Note: I almost always substitute fresh mushrooms for canned, and sometimes substitute Italian seasoning for the basil and morjaram. I wanted to post the original recipe, but I think these substitutions make the recipe better.